A fire marshal in Ontario will launch an investigation after a four-alarm fire tore apart a mixed-use building in Toronto’s Little Italy neighborhood overnight.
Fire crews responded to the fire in a commercial and residential building at 615 College Street, near Clinton Street, just before 1 a.m. Friday.
The three-storey building has a restaurant on the ground floor and apartments on the upper floors.
The Toronto fire says crews were greeted with heavy smoke and flames coming from the back of the building and through the roof.
“We think it probably started near the back of the building, and with the prevailing wind last night, all the heat and smoke was pushed inside the building. So we’ll find out more now that investigators are here, “said Platoon Commander Tim Algar at the scene Friday morning.
The fire escalated to a situation with four alarms and between 100 and 120 firefighters and 30 trucks were present at the scene at the peak of the fire.
A neighbor said he saw flames swirling from the roof of the building.
“When I went out, I looked up and the flames were all the way to the roof, so it went on for a while,” Liam Murray said.
“In general, the flames were right in the back and you can’t tell how many buildings were affected. You could see the main one, but it seemed to be spreading only by the wind.
The crews attacked the fire from all angles and managed to control it two hours later at about 3 o’clock in the morning.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported to residents or firefighters.
Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Peg thanked the crews for their prompt action in extinguishing the fire.
“I thank our Toronto Fire Department for their hard work in fighting the challenging 4th College Fire Alarm. Most importantly, there are no reports of injuries. An investigation into the origin, cause and circumstances of the fire will begin today, “Peg tweeted on Friday morning.
Algar says the fire caused significant damage to two neighboring units upstairs.
“Down in the lower (units) is not very bad. A little smoke, a lot of water. The upper floor is totally devastated from the inside of the upper floors. We went back to bare trees, there is a lot of damage on the upper floors. “
The Toronto Fire Department says they are working to temporarily relocate the affected residents.
The owner of Egyptian Street Food in Tut, located on the ground floor of the building, said his restaurant had suffered mostly water damage.
“I think the damage is coming from the apartment blocks above us. So there is no fire inside (damage), but now there is water damage. The fire marshal lowered the ceiling, there is a lot of water damage, “said Amr Elmazariki.
“Very sad. This is a new branch. We were looking forward to being open in the summer,” he added.
We thank our @Toronto_Fire teams for their hard work in fighting the challenging 4th College Street Alarm Fire. Most importantly, there are no reports of injuries. Clarification of the origin, causes and circumstances of the fire will begin today. @TPFFA
– Matthew Peg (@ChiefPeggTFS) April 15, 2022
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